QUEZON
PROVINCE, Philippines (Reuters) - More than 300 people have died after flash
floods and landslides devastated three coastal towns and left swathes of the
northern Philippines under water.

The
death toll was expected to rise on Tuesday as rescuers were unable to reach
areas cut off by huge mudslides and fast-moving floodwater in the wake of
tropical depression Winnie and as the country braced for another powerful
storm.

At
least 306 people died in the towns of Real, Infanta and General Nakar in
Quezon province, about 50 miles east of Manila, Social Welfare Secretary
Corazon Soliman told television.

Soliman
said 150 people were still missing in Real, where witnesses said a torrent of
logs and mud had swept down from the Sierra Madre mountains during Monday
night's downpour.

Rampant
illegal logging has been blamed for leaving towns vulnerable to landslides, a
factor in several disasters in recent years.

"We
think that illegal logging can be one of the main reasons why floods affected
those towns," said Jayjay Suarez, vice governor of Quezon province.

The
National Disaster Coordinating Committee said at least 21 people were killed
in other provinces in the main northern island of Luzon.

Armand
Balilo, a spokesman for the coastguard, said that 12 people rescued from Real
were in critical condition.

"The
critically wounded had fractured legs, with pieces of wood piercing their legs.
Some had lacerations on their bodies," he said.

A
spokesman for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said she would return early
from a summit of Southeast Asian nations in Laos on Tuesday night to help
coordinate the rescue operations.

The
floods came just a week after storms left about 160 dead or missing,
stretching the country's poorly equipped rescue services and military.

Winnie
moved into the South China Sea, but a more powerful storm was on course to hit
the country on Thursday and was gathering strength as it approached the east
coast.

"A
new typhoon is headed in our direction," Defence Secretary Avelino Cruz
told reporters, referring to tropical storm Nanmadol. "This one is much
stronger and has a wider coverage than the one that hit Quezon province."

BRIDGES
DESTROYED

Officials
said rescue efforts were being hampered by landslides blocking roads and a
lack of helicopters.

The
three worst affected towns were inaccessible by road and the army grounded its
helicopters in the afternoon as fresh rain made conditions dangerous.

"It's
unbelievable how the rescuers have been unable to reach these areas because
the bridges have been broken down and there are very strong currents they are
dealing with so the rubber boats also cannot go through," said Soliman.

One
helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in deep floodwater after it
was caught in a downdraft, but the crew were rescued, a military official said.
Television pictures showed bridges in Quezon province smashed by a tide of
mud.

Hundreds
of families lost their homes in Marikina City in Manila, and Montalban in
Rizal province.

Agriculture
Secretary Arthur Yap said he expected damage to crops to be minimal as most
rice farmers in northern Luzon island, the main rice-growing area, had already
harvested this season's crop.

About
20 typhoons lash the Philippines every year. The most destructive in recent
times was Thelma, which struck Leyte island in November 1991 and unleashed
floods in Ormoc City that drowned about 5,000 people.